Road-grader.



.N. STORY, 1n.

ROAD GHADER. APPLICATION men mum-1. ms.

Patented Feb 5,19% I if I I 4 SHEETS-S TURF WITNESSES w v 14 TTORMEVS N. STORY, In.

ROAD GRAD ER. APPMCATIQN FILED JUNE 24.

' Patented Feb. 5,1918.

w sums-swam I p I -Q. J

N. STORY, Jn.

ROAD GRADER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. 1916.

Patented Feb. 5,191

Ill/VE/VTOR 1/? 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- WITNESSES M7. sa/v STU/W ATTORNEYS N. ST-OR-Y, Jn. ROAD GRADER. APPLICATION .nu'zn JUNE 24. was.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- NELSON STORY, JR, 015 JBOZEMAN, MONTANA.

' 1111; AV YII t ELLE twirl ROAD-HEADER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb, 5, this.

Application fi led June 25, 1916. Serial Ito. 105,550.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, NELSON Sronr, Jr., a' citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bozeman, in the county of Gallatin and State of Montana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Road-Grraders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in road graders, and has for its object to provide mechanism in connection-with graders for handling the blade with power derived from the wheels of the grader, wherein the power may be applied to lift the blade to vary the cutting angle thereof, or to swing the blade with respect to the grader.

In the drawings I Figure 1 is a side view of a grader provided with the improvement,

Fig. 2 is a rear View,

Fig. 3 is a section through the worm gear,

Fig. i is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 7 is a partial top plan view showing the axle shifting mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a front View partly in section of the whel and axle connection. y

The present embodiment of the invention is shown in connection with a grader having a frame 1, the front axle 2 for supporting the front of the frame and the rear axle 3 for su porting the rear of the frame. The usual w eels 4 and 5 are connected with the axles, and one of the wheels 50f the rear axle is keyed or feathered thereon to turn the axle when the wheel turns. The lower section 6 of the fifth wheel which is connected to the axle 3 is provided with bearings 9,

in which the axle 3 is mounted to slide, the bearings being on the under side of the fifth wheel section.

As is known, the blades or scarifying mechanism of the machines of the character in question are ver difficult to handle, and even though a wor er may be conscientious it is only a question of time until he becomes so fati ed that he will neglect the proper handlingof the blade because ofthe great exertion required. While the changes may be slight and of small moment when taken singly yet in the aggregate they constitute the difierence between a properly and an improperly graded road.

The present invention is designed to re-" lieve the operator of the handling of the blade or scarifier, permitting such handling to be done by the power of the machine, that is, by the motion of the grader. With this object in view a bevel gear wheel 10 is keyed on the axle by means ofa feather 11 and a lever 12 is plvoted to the section 6 of the fifth wheel as indicated at 13, thelever extending transversely of the fifth wheel and the lever and the section have coiiperating mechanism indicated at 14 for holding the lever in adjusted position. The lever has a ring 15 intermediate its ends and encircling the axle and the hub of the bevel. gear 10, and thering is connected to a ring within a groove in the hub with a pin and slot connection indicated at 16 to ermit the lever to 1move the gear wheel longltudinally of the ax e.

This gear 10 meshes with a gear 17 on the lower end of a vertical shaft ournaled in a tit) bearing 18 on the frame, and the shaft is provided at its upper end with a bevel gear 19. A countershaft 20 is journaled in bearings 21 on the upper fifth wheel section 7, and a sleeve 22 is mounted to slide on the shaft, the sleeve being keyed or feathered to the shaft. Bevel gears 23 and 23 are secured to the ends of the sleeve, and these gears are adapted to engage in alternation with the bevel gear 19, the sleeve 22 being of a length and the gears being spaced apart the proper distance for this purpose.

A lever 24 is pivoted to a bearing bracket 25 on the frame at one end of the shaft 20, and the lever has latch mechanism cotiperating with a toothed quadrant 26 on the bracket for holding the lever in adjusted position. The lever-is connected to a ring 27, which is journaled in a groove in the extended end of the sleeve 22 by means of a link 28, the connection being such that by means of the lever either bevel gear 23 or 23 may be engaged with the gear 19.

The ends of the shaft 20 are extended beyond the bearings 21 and each end is provided with a sprocket wheel 29. These wheels 29 are connected by chains 30 with sprocket wheels 31 on the outer ends of stub shafts 32', which are journaled in bearing standards 33 on the frame. These sprocket wheels 31 are loose on the shaft, andeach' carries one section of a clutch 34, the other section of the clutch being feathered on the that the clutch sections may be connected or disconnected to connect the sprocket wheel to the shaft from.

Each shaft 32 is also provided with a hand wheel 36 at its inner end for permitting either side of the scraper support to be raised independently of the other, and worm gear connectionis provided for operating each shaft 32. The said mechanism comprises a worm 27 on the shaft 32 and a worm wheel 38 on a shaft 39 which is journaled longitudinally of the frame in the adjacent standard 33, and in a bearing bracket .46 on the frame. Each of these shafts 39 has a crank 41 at its forward end, and each crank is connected to the adjacent side of the upper circle 42 of the blade support to be later described, by means of a link 43. Thus either side of the grader supporting circle may be raised or lowered by means .of the shaft 39 connected to the said side.

The shaft carrying the bevel gears 17 and 19 operates a shaft 45 through a bevel gear 44, which as shown more particularly in Fig. 4 is mounted on the shaft 45, which is journaled at rightangles to the shaft 20. This bevel gear is keyed on the shaft, and is movable into and out 'ofengagement with the gear wheel 19, by means of a lever 46 pivoted to the frame and engaging an anor to disconnect the sametherenular groove in the hub of the bevel gear in a wellknown manner to move the said bevel gear longitudinally of the shaft.

- Other shafts47 and 48 are journaled parallel with the shaft 45 and the said shafts are connected by gears 49-and 50. The shaft 47 is provided with a gear 51 which is' adapted to mesh with a long gear 52 feathered on the shaft 45 and moved with respect to the shaft 45, by means of a lever 53, which is pivoted to the frame and connected with the hub of the gear wheel. This gear wheel 52 may be engaged with the gear wheel 51 or with the gear wheel 50. When the said wheel is engaged with the gear wheel 51 the shaft 47 will be driven directly, while when the gear wheel 52 is engaged with the gear wheel 50 the shaft 47 will be driven indirectly through the shaft 28.

The shaft 47 is rovided with r hand wheel 53, for permitting the blade to be shifted manually, and the said shaft is connected to a stub shaft 54 which operates the circle supporting the blade by means of a telescoping shaft 55, connected to the shaft 54 and to the shaft 47 by universal joint connections 56. The stub shaft 54 which is journaled in bearings 57 on the upper circle 42 is provided with a gear .wheel 58, which meshes with a rack 59 on. the lowerccircle 60 in such manner that when the shaft 47 is rotated the circle 60 will be moved angularly with respect to the circle 42. The circlesare mounted in such manner that the lower circle may rotate with respect to the upper circle to vary the position of the blade, and the blade 61 is connected to the lower circle 60 by the usual connecting mechanism 62. r

The axle 3 is shifted with respect to the fifth wheel and the frame by the mechanism shown more particularly in Figs. 5 and 7. The said mechanism comprises a collar 64 which is journaled in a groove in'the inner end of the hub of one of the wheels 5. A screw 65 extends inwardly from the collar parallel with the axle, and a worm wheel 66 is threaded onto the screw. This wormwheel is engaged by a worm 67 securedto a crank shaft 64, which is journaled in bearings 68 on the lower fifth wheel section. The worm wheel is held from movement with the shaft by means of a fixed bracket 68*, and it will be evident that when the worm wheel is rotatedby means of the shaft 67, the wheel will be moved inwardly or outwardly, depending upon the direction of rotation of the worm wheel.

The rear axle is moved angularly by means of the shaft 69. This shaft is arranged in vertical position and is provided at its lower end with a pinion 70 which meshes with rack teeth 71 on the lower sectionof the fifth wheel section 6. It will be evident that when the shaft 69 is turned, the fifth wheel section will also be turned carrying the axle therewith. By means of the lever 12 the bevel gear wheel 10 may be engaged with the gear wheel 7 or disengaged therefrom to connect the blade shifting mechanism with the wheels.

The operation of the device as a whole is as follows :When it is desired to shift the long axis of the blade at a greater or less angle with respect to the direction of motion of the grader, the bevel gear 10 is moved until it engages with the bevel gear 17 and the gear wheel 52 is arranged to engage the said wheel with the gear 51 or with the gear 50 depending upon the direction it is desired to shift the blade.

When now the axle 30 rotates the shaft 45 will be driven and the shaft 55 either directly or indirectly therefrom, and the lower circle 60 of the blade support will be rotated in the direction desired. Three notches are provided in the quadrant 26 for engagement by the latch mechanism of the .the other side of the blade support. If it is desired only to raise or. lower one side, either sprocket wheel 31 may be disengaged ranges 45 to a position perpendicular to the direc:

tion of the motion of the grader, and with approximately the same extent of revolution, the blade will be raised or lowered. to

- its full motions The mechanism is connected with the rear axle for convenience, since the controlling means for the machine is ar ranged at this point. It is obvious, however, that it might be driven from the front Wheels with equal facility.

I claim 1. In a road grader, the combination with the main frame, the axles supporting the frame andmounted to swing with respect thereto, the scraper, the rotatably connected circles for supporting the scraper, one circle being connected to the scraper, and the other being suspended from the frame, means for tilting the circles, means for rotating the lower circle on the upper circle, and means for connecting either of the said last-named means to the axle for operating the said means from the axle, said rotating means comprising a pinion journaled radially of the upper circle, the lower circle having rack teeth engaged by the pinion, a driving shaft journal on the frame, an extensible and contractible connecting shaft between the pinion and the driving shaft and having universal joint connections therewith, an operating shaft journaled above the axle and having a releasable driving connection therewith, and means for connecting the driving shaft directly or indirectly to the operating shaft,

2. In a road grader, the combination with the main frame, the axles supporting the frame and mounted to swing with respect thereto, the scraper, the rotatably connected circles for supporting the scraper, one circle being connected to the scraper, and the other being suspended from the frame, means for tilting the circles, means for rotating the lower circle on the upper circl and means for connecting either of the sai last-named means to the axle for operating the said means from the axle, said tilting means comprising shafts journaled at the opposite sides of the frame and longitudinally thereof, each having a radial arm and a connection between'each arm and the adjacent side of the upper circle, means for rotating either shaft, an operating shaft having a releasable driving connection with the axle, and means for connecting the operating shaft with the operating means of either of the first-named shafts.

NELSON STORY, din.

Witnesses:

time. Vanornnoon, 0. W. wnnr, 

